Door catch



G. A. MOON.

DOOR CATCH. APPLICATION FILED APR. 26, 1920.

1,403,910. Patented Jan. 17,1922.

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A K8) In! GEORGE A. MooN 2 43 2 22 o adorn? UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DOOR CATCH.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Jan. 1'7, 1922.

Application filed April as, 1920. Serial No. 376,476.

To all whom it may concern Be it known'that I, GEORGE A. Moon, a citizen of ti e United States, and a resident of the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, have made a new and useful inventionto wit, Improvements in Door Catches; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, concise, and exact description of the same.

This improvement relates to a door stop or catch for doors in general and particularly of the spring closed type.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a door check and catch, which simple in construction, economical of manufacture, ellicient in operationand constructedin such a manner as to be quickly and easily applied to and detached from the door and casing, and which will by the novel construction and arrangement of parts, provide an automatic and reliable means for securely holding the door closed. Other objects and advantages will appear as this description advances. i

In this specification and the annexed drawings, the invention is illustrated in the form considered to be the best, but it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to such form, because it may be embodied in other forms, and it is also to be understood that in and by the claims following the de scription, it is desired to cover the invention in whatsoever form it may be embodied.

In the accompanying one sheet of drawings.

Fig. 1 represents a door catch constructed in accordance with my invention and applied to a door and door j amb.

Fig. 2 is a disassembled perspective view of the door catch elements.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the friction plate member.

Fig. 4: is a view of the head of the fastening screw.

Fig. 5 is a modified form of door catch.

In detail the construction illustrated in the drawings comprises the door land door jamb or casing 2 on which are secured respectively the knife member 3 and the clamping plate 4L. The knife member 8 consists of a flat piece of sheet metal having the clamping bases 5 and 6 integrally formed thereon and bent at right angles to the blade 3. Each of the wing extensions 5 and 6 are provided with slotted or enlarged openings 7 for receiving fastening screws 8, adapted to position the knife member rigidly in place and incidentally providing a frictional means bywhich the location of the member 3 may be varied or adjusted to suit any position of the friction plate a. The member 13 is preferably placed upon the movable fixture as will be hereinafter more fully described in detail.

The friction clamping plate a consists of a flat piece of spring steel or sheet metal bent back upon itself to f rm a loop, the bentstrip 9 being spaced from the plate 4; as at 10, and rebent at 11 to substantially parallel the companion plate a and to approximate a frictional contact therewith. The ends of the plate 14. are co-terminous and each is liared outwardly to provide an easy opening for receiving the knife member 3. The plate 4 is adapted to be secured to an immovable fixture contiguous to the door and is provided with the holes 12 and 14: through which wood screws or other appropriate eans may be passed for securing the memher to the wood.

The lower plate 4 and extension 9 adjacent the spaced portion 10 has the alined hole 15 drilled therethrough into which the combined fastening and adjusting'screw 16 is adapted to be placed. The screw 16 may consist of an ordinary standard screw having the under side of its head provided with notches or projections in a serrated manner which are adapted to mesh with companion depressions or serrations formed in the spaced extension 5) around the hole 15 in that member.

This invention operates as follows: The door 1, preferably a screen door of the spring closed type has the knife member 3 secured thereon in registry with the com panion friction plate member 4, fixed on the adjacent jamb or casing. This invention is particularly adaptable to screen doors that have a strong spring thereon for the purpose of not only of closing the door, but for maintainingit in that position after it has been opened. This type of spring operates efiiciently for a time but is very annoying in that it closes the door with an unnecessary noise accompanied by jar and vibration which in time shakes the door to pieces. The continual compressing and expanding of the closing spring causes it to crystallize and to get out of adjustment whichgradually results in the door remaining partially open after each noisy closing.

With the application of my knife member and friction plates to the door and casing of the ordinary spring closed door all objectional features are eliminated. The knife element 3 is normally positioned to frictionally engage the companion plates 4. and 9. As the spring actuated door with the knife stop 3 thereon is swung-closed, it strikes either of the flared ends of the friction plates 4 and 9 and by reason of the momentum is forced to enter the space between the parallel faces thereof spending its force in entering. These faces are maintained in frictional contact by the adjusting screw 16 forcing against the extension 9 contiguous to the spaced out portion 10. The frictional tension between the two faces can be increased or lessened by screwing in or unscrewing the screw 16 in an obvious manner. Thus the receiving members act as a shock absorbing means for the knife member 3,.and permit the door to be swung closed quietly eliminating the attendant disadvantagesso well known where an apparatus of a similar characted is not employed. The adjusting screw 16 by reason of its having projections on its lower face engaging with companion depressions in the plate 9 can be made to stay in any adjusted position into which it might be placed, and provides a simple means by which a most inexperienced operator can reset the frictional tension between the contacting faces; In the modified form of assembled door stop shown in Fig. 5 the knife engaging member indicated by the numeral 20 is provided with a plurality of corrugations or projections 21 which are adapted to frictionally engage with the companion corrugations or depressions 22 formedin the frictional plate member 23. Each of the knife and friction plate members 20 and 23 respectively are provided with the same type of fastening tween said members and a knife member adapted to enter. said clamping member.

2A door catch comprising a strip of metal bent upon itself to form a clamping member and adapted to be secured to the jamb of a door; said bentportion being spaced away from said first mentioned strip 1 and rebent to approximate frictional contact therewith; screw means passing through said spaced portion and adapted to adjust the frictional contactof said clamping member and a knife member adapted to be secured on a door for entering said clamping member.

3. A door catch comprising a strip of metal bent upon itself to form a clamping member, said bent portion being spaced away from said first mentioned strip and the end thereof rebent to approximate frictional contact with said rst mentioned strip; screw means passing through said spaced portion and first mentioned strip having locking means thereon and adapted to adjust the frictional contact of said bent portion and first mentioned strip and a knife member adapted to pass between said clamping members. 7

In testimon whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at 17thday of April, 1920.

7 GEORGE A. MOON.

In presence of- LINCOLN V. J oHNsoN.

an Francisco California, this 7 

